traders must do a better job of packing models

[philo426]

Yes Jordan i second that!Every time I moved The cars in the display cases in my steamer trunks arrived with almost no damage.A few hoods were ajar but thsat is no big deal!

[jbwelda]

>I think you should pretty well expect a built-up model to arrive with at least some damage.

totally disagree. if one takes about 15 minutes to pack something with some intelligence it should not get damaged unless its run over or impaled or some similar disaster. the Ron Cash pickup for instance arrived completely unscathed. completely, not one piece floating around. it was wrapped in bubble wrap gently and put into a white model box (like a promo box, easily purchased from bags unlimited etc) and then wrapped with a layer of foam and put into a shipping carton. total cost was probably 5$...a cost i am willing to spend to assure some intelligent packing.

i have also had two 1/8 scale builds sent to me with zero damage in shipping but they had had little jigs constructed of cardboard to hold the wheels off the ground and isolate the model from shocks as much as possible. again, just a little bit of thinking which should be mandatory if you are selling this sort of thing on ebay. anything else is just an excuse for sloppyness. even if you thought your precious model would bring hundreds of bucks but it only drew one bid for 10$...thats absolutely no excuse.

in contrast i just bought a built jimmy flintstone zoomerang and the fool just wrapped it in a single sheet of paper, threw a couple styrofoam peanuts into a thin priority shipping box and marked "FRAGILE" on the box. fat lot of good that did...fortunately its such a slab of a model nothing much broke off except the front wheels, and about four parts of the motor. there is just no cure for stupid.

edit: just now i received a msg from the seller of the zoomerang apologizing profusely for it getting damaged in transit and offering to fully refund my price (and me keep the car) or if i find one of those kits he will build it for me and paint it my choice of colors (!) which of course is not necessary but reflects the "beyond the call of duty" that is quite often missing from ebay transactions of late. i do have to say receiving a reply like that really sucks all the wind out of your sails when it comes to being upset at someone. there are still good people on ebay!

end edit

then there was the technics 1200 turntable i bought from some kid on the east coast. he just threw it and all the accessories in a box, didnt even fasten down the tone arm and had stuff that weighed a bit floating around under the TT cover (the metal 45 slug for example). when i got it i about laid an egg, or at least it was from that direction on my body and couldnt believe the thing hadnt been destroyed...but it seemed to work fine and the tonearm was unbent and the suspension tested out ok so i guess i dodged a bullet there.

Edited September 22, 2012 by jbwelda